Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles Ambassador Armen Baibourtian had a meeting with the Sheriff of Los Angeles County Alex Villanueva.
Ambassador Baibourtian presented to Sheriff Villanueva the realities of the imposed 44-day war on Artsakh, the humanitarian crisis arisen as a result of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan with the backing of Turkey, numerous war crimes committed by Azerbaijan, and violations of international humanitarian law, including the targeting of peaceful civilians, the usage of unconventional banned weapons, cruel and inhuman treatment and torture against hostages and prisoners of war (POWs).
Touching upon the latest activities of the Consulates General of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Pakistan throughout the war and afterward, joined by the Pakistani community organizations, Consul General Baibourtian drew the attention of Sheriff Villanueva to the circumstance that representatives of the aforementioned countries, in particular, Azerbaijan, do not stop by any means in relentlessly spreading utterly false information, carrying out unconstructive and provocative actions.
Similarly, this is the modus operandi that the above-mentioned countries have adopted and implemented in reference to the recent event held in the presence of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) high-ranking representative and police chiefs of two cities. This was utilized and turned into a platform for the dissemination of misinformation, anti-Armenian propaganda, and Armenophobia.
Ambassador Baibourtian noted that he considers it improper for the voluntary or involuntary involvement of the representatives of the law enforcement in events of politicized controversial nature. Altogether, such provocative actions cause tensions in the multiethnic environment of Los Angeles and offend Armenian-Americans. The anti-Armenian propaganda carried out by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan sows hatred, and in some instances, this false propaganda materializes through the form of hate assaults and attacks or vandalism against the Armenian Community in California, which compromises and endangers the safeguarding of their lives and property.
Sheriff Villanueva noted that he apologized to the Armenian-Americans for this incident on his personal page on social networks a few days ago. He noted that he fully agrees with the mentioned points of Ambassador Baibourtian and stated that in the future he would be more attentive so that the staff of his department would not participate in politicized events.
The meeting was attended by Counselors of the Consulate General of Armenia Varazdat Pahlavuni and Edgar Grigoryan.
